1397: Acceptance of righteous deeds from one who commits zina

Will Allah accept the prayer and good deeds of a person who is continually committing sin such as fornification eventhough in his/her heart the person is aware that he/she is sinning and is full of guilt and tries his/her very best not to continue committing such sin. Except for this weakness this person tries
to be a good muslim e.g. never misses daily prayers, giving out time and money towards the cause of Allah, never take alcohol or other un-halal foods etc.

Praise be to Allaah.

Yes, Allaah will accept whatever righteous deeds he does, such as
praying, fasting, giving charity etc., and He will also accept his repentance, as He says
(interpretation of the meaning): “And He it is Who accepts repentance from His
slaves, and forgives sins, and He knows what you do.” [al-Shooraa 42:25]. But
there is the condition that his repentance must be sincere. Does this person truly regret
what he has done? Is he indeed determined not to repeat the sin? Has he, I wonder, gotten
rid of everything that may lead him to sin, such as relationships, addresses, telephone
numbers, going to evil places, bad friends, movies, pictures and so on? What we believe is
that if this person truly repents, he will give up this sin.

Zina is one of the worst kinds of immoral deeds. Allaah says
(interpretation of the meaning): “And come not near to the unlawful sexual
intercourse. Verily, it is a faahishah [i.e., anything that transgresses its limits, a
great sin], and an evil way (that leads one to Hell unless Allaah forgives him).”
[al-Isra’ 17:32].

Married people who commit zina (adultery) are to be punished with the
worst and most severe form of punishment, which is to be stoned to death, so that every
part of their bodies may feel pain just as they felt pleasure in a haraam manner even
though they were not without a halaal source of pleasure (i.e., within marriage).
Unmarried people who commit zinaa, and had never been married before, are to be given the
maximum number of lashes prescribed in sharee’ah, which is one hundred lashes. In
addition, they are subjected to the humiliation of having their punishment witnessed by a
group of believers, and are to be banished for one full year from their city, the place
where they committed the crime.

The punishment for those who are guilty of zinaa in Barzakh (i.e.,
after death and before the Day of Resurrection) is that they will be in an oven, the top
of which is narrow and the bottom of which is wide. A fire will be lit under it, and they
will be naked in (that oven). When the fire is lit, they will scream and rise up until
they almost come out of the oven, then when the fire subsides, they will go back down into
it. This is what will keep happening to them until the Hour begins. So how will their
punishment be in the Fire of Hell itself?

We ask Allaah not to despise us and to accept our repentance; we ask
Him to help us to do good and to avoid evil, for He is the All-Hearing, Ever-Near.